Improvement in wire-brim hats



L. T. SMITH. Wire-Brim Hat.

No. 213,846. Patented April I, 1879.

".PETERS. PHOTO-IJTHOGRAPHEE WASHINGTON. D Cv UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEROY T. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD A. NICHOLS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN WIRE-BRIM HATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No- 213,846, dated April 1, 1879; application filed March 7, 1879.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, LEROY T. SMITH, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WireBrim Hats; and I do hereby declare that the following specification is aclear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My said improvements relate more particularly to felt hats, and to such as have the edge of the brim curled inward to form a recess for receiving the brim-stiifenin g wire, such as have heretofore been applied in various ways.

So far as my knowledge extends, the stiffening of hat-brims by the insertion of wires has never heretofore been accomplished without unduly stiffening the brim, while seeking to attain that desired degree of elasticity for which a spring-wire is intended to provide, except in that class of hats which have an extra or outside casing applied directly to the edge of the'brim.

In felt hats having the inwardly-turned edge at the brim and a stiffening-wire, as heretofore made, the casing or receptacle for the wire has been formed by stitching the edge of the inwardly-turned portion upon the upper or lower side of the brim, as the case may be. This method of forming the casing so far stiffens the edge of the brim as to render it decidedly objectionable; and it is the object of my invention to attain all the advantages accruing from the use of the spring and the inwardly-turned edge without the objectionable feature referred to, and to attain a desirable degree of elasticity as heretofore attained by the use of a separate outside casing; and my invention consists in a casing for a brim wire or spring which is formed in part by an inwardly-turned portion of the hat-brim, and in part by a binding strip or braid which is applied over the edge of the brim, stitched through and through, and in itself constitutes a portion of the casin g.

To more particularly describe my invention I will refer to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents, in lateral section, a felt hat provided with a wire spring and casing in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 represents, in top view, a portion of a hatbrim partially broken away, disclosing the brim-wire, the inwardly-turned edge of the brim, and the binding-braid partially applied. Fig. 3 represents, on an enlarged scale, a sectional view of a hat-brim, the spring, and binding-braid.

The hat A has the edge of its brim a turned upward and inward to form the casin g for receiving the spring B.

Instead of having the inwardly-turned edge of the brim sufficiently extended to lie flatly upon the upper surface of the brim, so as to be stitched thereto, as heretofore, it extends inward only to such an extent as will afford a recess sufficiently large to receive the wire spring, of whatever character it may be.

The binding-strip 0, usually an elastic or stretchy ribbed silk fabric, is sufficiently wide to encompass the entire edge of the brim, close the casing, and afford ample ground for receiving a line of stitches passed directly through the binding and brim, as indicated by the dotted line a Fig. 3.

It will be seen that the wire spring is free within its casing, to adapt itself to the adjacent port-ions of the brim when bent or twisted, as is incident to the use of hats of this kind, and that the binding fabric closes the casing, and, instead of rigidly confining the spring, simply serves to prevent its displacement, while performing its usual and ordinary function as a finishing medium.

In practice the casing may be nearly completed throughout the circumference of the brim, and the wire spring B then inserted longitudinally, and its ends secured by a clasp, 12, substantially as heretofore employed, after which the application of the binding is completed; or, as is deemed preferable by me, the spring, properly clamped, is inserted into the open recess prior to the application of the binding fabric.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 

